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Yellowstone National ParkThis is the world's greatest geyser area, with Old Faithful and some 10,000 other geysers, hot springs, and geothermal features. Yellowstone is also the largest Park in the lower 48 states. The area was first set aside in 1872 as the world's first national park. It was established on March 1, 1872.
GeologyThe geologic history of Yellowstone centers around volcanism. the Absaroka Mountains along the park's eastern boundary were created by volcanic activity some 50 million years ago, but the Park itself was most influenced by three violent eruptions. Molten lava pushing from below bulged the land upward into an enormous dome. Eventually, this pressure became too great, sending ash and rock blasting from fissures around the dome's margins. Afterwards the dome began to re-form as more magma was forced in. This process has been repeated three times over the last two million years, with the last eruption approximately 600,000 years ago. The magnitude of this most recent event produced 240 cubic miles of ash that were blasted into the atmosphere. This eruption - perhaps the largest to ever occur on earth - ejected 20 times more material than the massive Krakatoa eruption of 1883, an explosion heard 3,000 miles away! Undoubtedly ash from the eruption affected the global climate for years to follow. After this eruption, the magma chamber collapsed into a gigantic, smoldering pit reaching 28 by 47 miles across, and perhaps several thousand feet deep. Over time, additional molten rock pushed up from underneath and flowed as thick lava over the land. Two resurgent domes - near Old Faithful and just north of Yellowstone Lake - are still rising at nearly an inch per year. The one north of Yellowstone Lake is raising the lake's outlet and causing the water level to increase at an inch a year, flooding trees along the margins. Yellowstone is most famous for its geyser activity. At least 60% of the world's geysers are in the Park, making it easily the largest and most diverse collection of geysers in existence. Yellowstone's more than 300 geysers are spread over nine different basins, the largest being Upper Geyser Basin. Although geysers are Yellowstone's best known feature, they make up only a tiny fraction of perhaps 10,000 thermal features in the park; including hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.
Prehistoric and Historic IndiansThe Yellowstone region has been used steadily by Native Americans sine the end of the last ice age, about 8,500 years ago. Numerous Archaeological sites suggest that some seasonal influxes of human were sizable, and that the migrants came not only for food but also for weapons. Points and other devices made from Yellowstone obsidian (a hard, glasslike volcanic rock) have traveled, as trade items, as far east as Ohio. By 1800, three tribes were most prominent in the Yellowstone area: Crow Blackfoot and Shoshone. All seem to have made some use of park area, but the only steady residents were a small group of Tukudikas, whose heritage seems to have been a blend of Shoshone and Bannock. The Tukudikas were known as Sheepeaters, and had no horses and very few European weapons; they were regarded as backwards and shy by the first trappers to see them. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, when other tribes in the northern Rockies were being placed on reservations, the Yellowstone Sheepeaters were not recognized as a distinct tribal body, and so did not conclude settlement treaties with the federal government. No claim to the Yellowstone area seems to have been made on their behalf, and even before the park was established in 1872, they moved to a reservation. During the 1870s, a large group of Bannocks occasionally traveled across the northern part of the park to and from hunting grounds to the east. In a few places near the Mammoth Hot Springs-Tower Road, ruts carved by the dragging ends of their travois can still be seen. In 1877, Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce through the park with the calvary in pursuit. They seized several tourists, whom they released later.
Historical BackgroundThe first explorer to see the Yellowstone area was probably John Cotler, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition until August 1806, when he was permitted to leave the eastbound explorers to prospect for furs. In the winter of 1807-08, Cotler may have crossed portions of the present-day park and seen at least a few of the thermal features. Cotler was followed by many other wandering trappers and, later, prospectors over the next 60 years. Although Yellowstone remained officially unexplored and unmapped until after the Civil War, it was crossed, trapped, or panned more of less annually after 1820. Rumors of the area's peculiar character and stunning scenery lead to three formal expeditions by "respectable" citizens whose reports would be believed by most: Folsom, Cook, and Peterson (1869); Washburn, Landford, and Doane (1870); and Hayden (1871). The Hayden Geological and Geographical Survey, part of the federal government's efforts to map and evaluate the western public domain, added enough solid information to the earlier reports to pique public interest. With strong backing from the tourism-minded Northern Pacific Railroad, members of the 1870 and 1871 expeditions launched a campaign to preserve the region's wonders. Yellowstone National Park was established by an act of Congress and signed into law on March 1, 1872, by President Ulysses S. Grant. The park was placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior, with Nathaniel P. Langford as its unpaid superintendent. Because of the difficult access, fewer than 500 people came in each of the first few years of the park's existence, most to soak in tubs at Mammoth Hot Springs. Not a few decided to take home souvenirs, bringing pick axes and shovels of that purpose. Meanwhile, hunters - including some working for the Mammoth Hotel -began shooting the park's game. Two brothers who had a ranch just north of the park killed 2,000 elk in a single year. Superintendent Langford did little to stop the slaughter, only bothering to visit the park twice. Finally in 1877, the Secretary of the Interior fired him, putting Philetus W. Norris in charge instead. Norris proved a good choice, despite his knack for applying his name to everything in sight. (Most of his attempts at immortality have been replaced by other titles, but Norris Geyser Basin, Norris Road, and even Norris, Michigan remain.) In 1886, the underfunded civilian administration was replaced by the calvary, which provided basic legal order and developed many management practices and philosophies. The National Park Service was created in 1916, but did not assume complete control of Yellowstone until 1918, when rangers replaced the last soldiers.
Driving TourEast Entrance (elev 6951 ft) The frame built ranger station was constructed in 1904 as a soldier station. Yellowstone's worst case of cabin fever - that craziness born of long winter isolation - occurred here late in the winter of 1912, when an Army sergeant returned from a ski patrol and during an altercation, shot two of his four men, killing one. At a court-martial, he was acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. The three surviving privates, on the other hand, were found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to prison terms. Middle Creek paralleled by the highway, flows into the Shoshone River. On a clear day the Tetons are visible 60 miles to the south. Sylvan Pass, (elev 8541 ft) is flanked by Hoyt Peak, 10,506 ft, on the north and Top Notch Peak, 10,238 ft, to the south. This is the only park road crossing the Absaroka (ab-SOR-ka) Mountain Range, an immense chain of volcanoes 50 million years old, much more ancient than the Yellowstone Plateau. A recoil-less rifled cannon is mounted on the pass in winter in order to shoot down snow cornices before they can grow large enough to avalanche. Even so, avalanches are common here. In the summer of 1917 a teamster hauling a wagon load of hay camped near here and was fatally mauled by a grizzly bear. The next night the same bear terrorized a nearby road camp. The crew responded by baiting a barrel with garbage and dynamite. When the griz returned they blew him up. They "...raised that bear up maybe four or five feet...broke every bone in his body." The huge animal's skull measured 18 inches across the brow. Eleanor Lake was named for the infant daughter of Hiram Chittenden, the pioneer highway engineer who oversaw the construction of the original road along this route in 1902. Sylvan Lake Sylvan means "forested, or abounding in trees." Top Notch Peak rises 10,238 ft to the south of the lake; and to the north is Avalanche Peak, at 10,566 ft. Sedge Creek Sedge is a grass-like plant that grows in alpine meadows and marshy river bottoms. Some varieties have a higher protein content than alfalfa. Yellowstone Lake (elev 7,733 ft), measuring 20 by 14 miles, 339 ft deep with 110 miles of shoreline, the surface of the lake freezes in late December and thaws in late May. The water at the bottom of the lake remains at about 42-degrees F the year round. This is North America's largest mountain lake. Steamboat Point was named for the roaring steam fumarole on the lake shore. A rock shoal named Pelican Roost Rock lies a few hundred yards off shore. The point offers a good view of the West Thumb Geyser Basin 18 miles to the southwest. Marys Bay This large explosion crater was made when glacial ice dammed waters suddenly drained, allowing super-heated water previously confined by the weight of water above, to flash to steam. A portion of the crater's rim is marked by the semi-circle of bluffs to the north. The warm ground around nearby Beach Springs is free of snow throughout the winter. Indian Pond was a favorite camping place of Indians, as evident by brush corrals, shelters and discarded stone tools found here in 1880. The water-filled crater was created during the last ice age by a steam explosion. Hot springs are still active on the bottom of the pond. Pelican Creek Osborne Russell, a mountain man, was attacked and robbed here in 1839 by Blackfeet Indians. Struck by an arrow in his hip, he managed, with a wounded companion, to reach Fort Hall, over 200 miles away beyond the Tetons. This area is considered an important grizzly bear habitat, and is closed to humans from 7 pm to 9 am. Fishing Bridge was a major tourist attraction because of its great cutthroat trout fishing. The surrounding forests and meadows are prime grizzly habitat. Conflict between humans and bears led to the death of 16 grizzly bears here. To help restore the grizzly populations, the Park Service banned fishing from the Bridge in 1973 and tried to move the developments to the Grant Village area. The only Indian grave known in Yellowstone, an adult male buried with a dog, was found near here during the installation of a sewer line in the 1920s. Fishing Bridge Visitors Center has exhibits of Yellowstone birds and animals, plus nature films. Yellowstone River is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the lower 48 states. It is popular with pelicans, swans, moose, and fly fishermen. Avalanche Peak stands prominent in the southeast. Le Hardy Rapids were named for a surveyor whose raft upset here in 1873. He was wet and chilled, but survived. Mud Volcano was described and named by the 1870 Washburn Expedition. A vast reservoir of molten rock about 15,000 ft below the surface, today, generates the heat creating the thermal features present here. Over thousands of years the Mud Volcano area has probably undergone considerable change a number of times. The most recent period was during the autumn of 1978 when several small earthquakes struck the region. The surface temperature and water levels increased. Activity in many of the old features, and several new features were added to the area, and the heat killed many trees. In recent years, however, the heat and the water levels have decreased. These acidic hot springs have reduced the underlying lava rock to a fine clay, producing a variety of boiling mud pools, pots and volcanoes. The Yellowstone River bisects this thermal area, so some hot springs bubble up from the river bottom. The odor of rotten egg, often noticeable even inside a moving vehicle, is hydrogen sulfide gas. Sulfur Caldron, across the road from Mud Volcano, is the most acidic spring found in Yellowstone, having a pH of 1.2, about the same sourness as battery acid or stomach fluids. Various mineral cause the different colors found in the pool. The yellow color is due to its high sulfur content. Unlike the pools across the road, the cloudiness of the water is not attributed to mud or suspended soil particles, but bacteria. Notice the difference in color of Sulfur Caldron and the mud pots across the road, indicating that the sulfur is in a different form (iron sulfide and the underground water sources an not connected, preventing a mixing of the springs. The stone-walled overlook to the east of the road was rebuilt in 1984 after it collapsed into the acidic pool directly below. The corrosive vapors rotted the foundations on which the overlook rested. Hayden Valley was named for Ferdinand V. Hayden, pioneer surveyor who led an expedition to Yellowstone in 1871 and whose work was instrumental in the creation of the park. It was formed 10,000 years ago when melting glacial ice 3,000 feet thick created a lake much larger than present Lake Yellowstone. The tree line around the perimeter of the valley marks the ancient shoreline. The open meadows are dotted by bush-like sagebrush. The valley, about 9 miles long and six miles wide, is the year-round home to over 1,000 bison. Elk and grizzly bears frequent the valley from spring through fall. The valley was the site of a fur trappers' mini-rendezvous in 1836 led by famous mountain man "chief" Jim Bridger. Otter Creek Picnic Area In October of 1987, a photographer was killed by a five year old grizzly in the meadows a third of a mile west of here. The North Fork Fire jumped across the Yellowstone River via the timbered ridge on the south side of these meadows. The 1988 fires sometimes cast burning embers two miles ahead of themselves. Thus, in strong wind, the fires ran as much as 13 miles in a single day, consuming huge tracts of forest in a few hours. )Otter Creek Tourists who camped here in the summer of 1877 were attacked by some of Chief Joseph's Nez Perce warriors as the tribe fled across the park in their bid to reach Canada. The Washburn Mountain Range is visible downriver to the north. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is 1,200 ft at its deepest, 4,000 ft across at its widest and is 24 miles long. The canyon is basically a river-eroded geyser basin. After the massive volcanic eruptions some 600,000 years ago, rhyolite lava flows came through what is not the Grand Canyon. The flows eventually cooled, but geothermal activity within the rhyolite weakened the rock with hot steam and gasses, making it susceptible to erosion. Over the centuries, a series of glaciers blocked water upstream, and then allowed the water in this lake to empty suddenly when they retreated. The weakened rhyolite was easily eroded by these floods of water and glacial debris, thus revealing pastel yellow and red canyon walls colored by the thermal activities. The Lower Falls are on the edge of the thermal basin, above rock that wasn't weakened by geothermal activity. The Upper Falls are at the contact point between hard rhyolite that does not erode easily, and a band of rhyolite that contains more easily eroded volcanic glass. Today the canyon is eroding more slowly, having increased in depth only 50 feet over the last 10,000 years. Upper Falls View At the end of a half-mile side road is the brink of this spectacular falls, called "Upper" because it is upstream of the Lower Falls. The Upper Falls (109 ft) is the lower falls and the Lower Falls (308 ft) is the higher falls. Confused? The Upper Falls was formed where a hard lava flow abuts a soft one. In 1880 a tree near here was discovered with the initials "JOR" and the date "Aug 19, 1819" carved on it. A short trail begins at the parking area and leads to the 129 ft high Crystal Falls of Cascade Creek neat where it flows into the Yellowstone River. Canyon Village is an unforgettable shopping mall in the wilderness, complete with various stores and eating places, a post office and a gas station. The Canyon Visitors Center has exhibits on the geology and natural history of the area, along with films and slide shows. The grove of trees beyond the pond just west of the road burned in September, 1988, when a finger of the North Fork Fire made a run on the village and was stopped by fire fighters only a few hundred yards from the outlying buildings. North Rim Road This one-way road takes visitors to a series of extremely popular overlooks on the north rim. Washburn Hot Springs Overlook offers an overview of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Beyond the Canyon the roadless Mirror Plateau stretches for 15 miles to the east. The Absaroka Mountains, along the eastern boundary of the park, jut above the horizon far beyond. The hot springs visible from the overlook include a group of mud pots. The northern end of the great Yellowstone caldera, which erupted 600,000 years ago, is located just to the north of here. The south side of Mt. Washburn, an extinct 50 million-year old volcano, slides into the crater created by the caldera's collapse. Mt. Sheridan, visible 27 miles to the south, marks the opposite rom of this enormous geographic feature. Dunraven Pass (elev 8859 ft) is named for the Fourth Earl of Dunraven, who toured Yellowstone in 1874 and 1876, and whose subsequent book stimulated a wave of European travellers to visit the park. Washburn Range The forests here were burned by a part of the North Fork Fire which came north over the Washburn Range after passing Canyon Village, eight miles to the south. In such steep terrain the fires often ran very hot and fast up the mountain slopes, in a chimney effect. Other days, the fires raced down-mountain, drawn by down-slope winds. Many of the 261 large mammals, mostly elk, known to have been killed by the Yellowstone fires, died among the cliffs of this rugged terrain. Almost all deaths were due to asphyxiation - the bodies were burned afterwards. Mount Washburn was named for General H.D. Washburn, who led the historic 1870 expedition through Yellowstone. Mountain sheep spend summer in the alpine flower meadows on the high slopes. Mae West Curve, just north of the Old Chittendon Road which leads up Mt. Washburn, was named after the movie star of the 30s and 40s. The highway overlooks stands of aspen trees and the open sagebrush/grassland vistas of Antelope Creek, a favorite summer haunt of grizzly bears. Much of the area was burned over during the summer of 1988 by the North Fork Fire. Such meadowland fires often kill sagebrush but leave grass roots uninjured, so they grow normally, even vigorously, the following spring, fertilized by ash leached into the soil by the snow-melt. The Beartooth Mountains rise in the distance to the northeast. Antelope Creek drains Mt. Washburn, elevation 10,243 ft, which is topped by a manned fire lookout. The Beartooth Mountains are, again, visible in the north. Tower Fall was named for the unusual tower-like volcanic rock formations at its brink. For more than 100 years a boulder stood atop Tower Falls; the water and gravity finally won in 1986. A trail continues to the base of the falls, 132 feet high. Less than a quarter of a mile below the falls, Tower Creek flows into the Yellowstone River near the old Bannock Ford, the only safe crossing of the river for many miles. The ford has been used since man came to Yellowstone. Overhang Cliff is an old lava flow of columnar basalt which overhangs the highway by 45 feet. Calcite Springs Overlook, two miles southeast of the Tower-Roosevelt junction, provides dramatic views the narrowest part of the 14 mile long Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Notice the steaming geothermal activity far below. The cliff face also contains a wide strip of columnar basalt. Bumpus Butte is prominent of the rim downstream. Roosevelt Lodge, built in 1920, was named for President Theodore Roosevelt who camped just a few miles south of here when he visited in 1903. President Roosevelt remained a lifelong supporter of Yellowstone, and helped push through legislation that clamped down on the rampant destruction of wildlife. Petrified Tree This redwood tree was buried standing alive by volcanic ash during the titanic Absaroka mountain building era 50 million years ago. In 1907, the 20-foot stump was enclosed by iron bars for its protection. A second petrified tree that used to stand nearby was stolen piece-by-piece by thoughtless tourist. Yancey Creek Around 1900, John Yancey operated a hotel nearby to cater to stagecoach tourists visiting the park and miners on their way to Cooke City, just northeast of the park. Garnet Hill (elev 7060 ft) is a 4.5 billion year old granite mountain where small flawed garnets can be found, but not legally collected. Floating Island Lake No floating island is presently visible, though in the past, rafts of vegetation have formed on the lake. Hellroaring Mountain To the northeast is Hellroaring Mountain, the prominent cone-shaped peak, just beyond the north boundary of the park. Hellroaring Creek was named by a gold prospector in 1867 for the noise it made tumbling out of the mountains. The Hellroaring Fire stated when an outfitter's campstove ignited his tent on August 15, 1988. The name seemed appropriate for the fire that on some days generated a convection smoke column 40,000 ft high - comparable to the cloud created by the explosion of an atomic bomb. The resulting fire burned nearly 20,000 acres in the park.
Phantom Lake, filled by snow-melt waters in the spring, dries up in the late summer. Blacktail Deer Creek was named by early gold miners for a Yellowstone deer that modern wildlife biologists recognize as a sub-species of mule deer. Undine Falls The upper falls is 60 ft high and the lower measures 50 ft. Gardner River Canyon is visible upstream from the bridge. Mount Everts, which dominates the river downstream to the north, was named for a member of the 1870 Washburn Expedition who was lost in Yellowstone for 37 days, but who lived to father a son at age 76. Lava Creek Canyon lies east of the bridge. Warm Creek This warm water creek drains the terraced Mammoth Hot Springs visible on the steep mountainside above. Albright Visitors Center is named for the first National Park Service superintendent at Yellowstone, Horace Albright, and is housed in the Army's old Bachelor Officer's Quarters. Mammoth contains a number of other historical structures constructed during the Army's tenure at Fort Yellowstone. The most distinctive are a row of six buildings built between 1891 and 1909 that were quarters for the officers and captains. Most of the grunt soldiers lived in barracks just behind here, one of which is now the park administration building. The U.S. Engineers Department was housed in an odd stone building (across from the Visitors Center) with obvious Asian influences. Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, most of which was built in 1937, although one wing survives from a hotel built in 1911, is the third to sit on this site. Inside is a large wooden map of the United States. In pre-automobile days, most visitors arrived in trains at the north entrance before setting out in stagecoaches to explore the interior. All the water flowing out of Mammoth terraces quickly disappears into underground caverns. In front of the hotel are two sinkholes from which steam can be seen rising. Caverns above the terraces were once open to the public, but later closed when it became apparent that they contained poisonous gasses. Mammoth Hot Springs was officially discovered by the 1871 U.S. Geological Survey Party, which was led by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden. However, some local knowledge of the Hot Springs Terraces and their activity had existed previously. Mammoth Hot Springs consists of a series of multi-hued terraces down which hot, mineral laden water trickles. The source of this water is snow and rain that falls on the surrounding country, although some is believed to come from the Norris area, 20 miles to the south. As it passes through the earth, the water comes in contact with volcanic magma containing massive amounts of carbon dioxide which is absorbed by the water to form carbonic acid. The now-acidic water passes through and dissolves the region's sedimentary limestone, and the calcium carbonate remains in the solutions until it reaches the surface at Mammoth. One at the surface, the carbon dioxide begins to escape into the atmosphere, reducing the acidity, and causing the lime to precipitate out, forming the travertine terraces that are so prominent here. as the water flows over small obstructions, more carbon dioxide is released, causing accumulations that eventually grow into the lips that surround the terrace pools. The accumulation of travertine (calcium carbonite) is astounding; more than two tons a day at Mammoth Hot Springs. About 500 gallons of water flow from the side of the mountain each minute; some terraces grow by eight inches a year. Opal Terrace, across the road from the Main Terrace Area, began flowing in 1926, and has continued to expand over the years. In 1947 a tennis court was removed to allow the natural expansion of the terrace. Further growth threatens the historic home nearby. It was built in 1908 and designed by Robert Reamer (of Old Faithful Inn fame). Main Terrace Area The Upper Terrace Golden Gate pass marks the north edge of the Yellowstone Plateau. The highway bridge is pinned to cliffs made of crumbly yellow tuff, a volcanic rock - hence the name. Rustic Falls, 41 feet high, occupies the cleft between Bunsen Peak to the east and Terrace Mountain to the west. The Hoodoos, are jumble of boulders made of travertine - limestone deposited at the bottom of an ancient sea, then dissolved and redeposited by hot springs. The terrace mountain has been undermined by erosion, so big blocks have broken off and tumbled down. Gardner's Hole is named for mountain man, Johnson Gardner, who frequented the area in the 1830s. Sheepeater Cliffs is named for the small group of Shoshone Indians who frequented the area until Yellowstone was made a park in 1872. The cliffs are formed of a lava flow that solidified to columnar basalt. Marmots live in burrows among the rocks. Willow Park is prime moose viewing area. Apollinaris Spring was named for the 19th century bottled mineral water, the taste of which this spring water was said to resemble. Obsidian Cliff overlooks the east side of the road. Obsidian is black volcanic glass, formed when a lava flow contacted glacial ice about 75,000 years ago. Valued by Indians as a material for stone tools, obsidian collected here was traded as far away as the Ohio River Valley. Legend has it that mountain man Jim Bridger once attempted to shoot an elk that was standing on this mountain, not realizing that he was actually only seeing its reflection. Roaring Mountain is named for the sound of steam fumaroles that became very active and noisy in 1902, killing a mountainside of trees. The activity declined in the 1920s and has been relatively quiet ever since. The acidic pool near the road is called Lemonade Pond. Ground heat and acid prevents trees from growing in much of the area. Twin Lakes is located across the road from Roaring Mountain. Though separated by only a thin strip of land, the lakes are different colors. Frying Pan Spring bubbles with hydrogen sulphide gas that can often be smelled even from a moving car. Nymph Lake is so acidic from hot springs activity on its bottom and shores that no fish can live in its waters. Norris Geyser Basin, named for the second superintendent of the park, is the hottest, most volatile thermal area on this continent, if not in the world; a scientific team found temperatures of 401-degrees F at just 265 ft underground, and were forced to quite drilling when the pressure threatened to destroy their drilling rig. Because of considerable sulphur (and hence sulfuric acid) in the springs and geysers, the water at Norris is quite acidic; a majority of the world's acid geysers are located here. The acidic water kills lodgepole trees in the basin, creating an open, nearly barren place. Norris Basin has been around at least 115,000 years, making it the oldest of any of Yellowstone's active geyser basins. Back Basin Bathtub Spring is a clear, bubbling pool, shaped like a bathtub. Emerald Spring, a beautiful green pool with acidic water just below the boiling point, measures 27 ft deep. It water is nearly as acidic as tomato juice. Steamboat Geyser was named by the Hayden Survey of 1872, because of its splashing of water in regular beats during an eruption. Wait a few minutes and you may see one of its minor eruptions that may reach 40 ft. But on occasion, Steamboat erupts with a force that is hard to believe, blasting 380 ft into the air - three times the height of Old Faithful - making this the world's tallest geyser. Eruptions can last up to 20 minutes, enough time to pour out a million gallon of water. They have been heard up to 14 miles away. Unfortunately full eruptions are entirely unpredictable. Recent major eruptions of Steamboat numbered 23 in 1982, 12 in 1983, and 5 in 1984. No eruptions were observed or reported until 1989, when 3 were known to have occurred. A 50 year span once passed without a recorded eruption. Cistern Spring and Steamboat geyser seem to be somehow connected underground. Following a major eruption of Steamboat, Cistern Spring drains. Normally it is a deep blue pool which continually overflows, killing nearby trees. Echinus Geyser (from Greek for "spiny") gets its name from the sea urchin-like pebbles around the geyser, which are a result of sinter accumulation. Echinus erupts every 35-75 minutes. Watch the pool closely, since explosions of steam and water generally begin once it has filled. Bench-sitters are likely to get wet. although the water is not hot enough to burn. Watch your glasses and camera lenses in the steam and water, since silica deposits can be very hard to remove. Veteran Geyser gurgles ferociously and erupts occasionally to the height of several feet. Vixen Geyser, with a small cone, is very temperamental. At times is seems to have no power at all and then turns very active. Porkchop Geyser became a continuous spouter in the spring of 1985. The force of the spray generated a roar that could often be heard from the museum. Continuous eruptions even created an ice cone during the winter months. Some cones were over 20 feet high and over 20 feet in diameter. On September 5, 1989 it self-destructed in explosion, throwing rocks more than 180 feet and leaving behind a bubbling hot spring. Minute Geyser plays 15 to 20 feet in height, and its eruptions are sometimes several hours apart. The spray from is falls like strings of crystal. The Chocolate Pots grow along the banks of the Gibbon River rapids, where boulders stand on pedestals in the river. These warm spring mounds, three to four feet tall, are composed largely of mineral-cemented iron oxides, aluminum, manganese and nickel, and are further colored by warm-water algae. Gibbon Meadows Elk and bison are commonly seen here. The prominent peak visible to the north os 10,336 ft Mount Holmes. Artist Paint Pots are reachable by a easy half-mile trail. The forest around the mud pots and hot springs were burned in the North Fork Fire, so it's a good place to see how the lodgepole pine trees are regenerating. Just south of the parking area for Artist Paint Pots is a trail to Monument Geyser sin, where there isn't much activity, but the tall sinter cones from all sorts of bizarre shapes, including Thermos Bottle Geyser. The mile-long hike climbs 500 feet and provides good views of the surrounding country. To the east, Gibbon Hill (elev 8601 ft) towers more than 1,000 feet above the basin floor and is so symmetrical that it looks man-made in satellite photos. Beryl Spring takes its name from the blue-green gemstone. At 200-degrees F, it is one of the hottest springs in the park. Crossing the river twice more, you come to a hazardous turn, Tanker Turn, named after a tanker truck that wrecked here in the early 1970s. Gibbon Falls (84 ft high) was created where the Gibbon River spilled over the rim of the great volcanic crater that erupted in central Yellowstone 600,000 years ago. Due to erosion the falls have since receded a half mile upstream. Landslides are frequent along this road during summer rains due to burning of the steep slopes above by the fires of 1988. The cliff at the far side of the falls was the subject of a bet early in the park's history, when the U.S. Army looked after the area. For $500, could a man make it up and down the cliff 10 times in 8 hours? The bet was won. The Gibbon River is named for General John Gibbon who explored the area in 1872. Gibbon led the calvary unit that buried Custer's men on the Little Bighorn and in 1877 he helped chase Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians through the park on their desperate flight for Canada. Terrace Spring Mineral deposits have created terraces along the run-off channels of this colorful spring. National Park Mountain (elev 7500 ft) is named in honor a fabled incident in 1870. Three explorers were gathered around the campfire, discussing the wonders that they had found in this area, when one suggested that rather that letting all these wonders pass into private hands, they should be set aside as a national park. Thus was born the concept that led to the world's first national park. The tale was passed on as the gospel truth for so long that the mountain was named in honor of the evening. Unfortunately the story was a fabrication. Madison Explorers Museum contains displays on the establishment of Yellowstone National Park. Firehole Canyon Drive The one-way road, once the main highway, passes along 800 foot high lava cliffs. The road climbs along the canyon wall past the 40 foot high Firehole Falls and the Cascades of the Firehole. The Firehole River is one of the world's classic trout streams, though some stretches are so warmed by hot springs that they are avoided by fish. Nez Perce Creek is named foro Chief Joseph's tribe ("the Pierced noses") who passed this way during the summer of 1877. Having been ordered to a reservation in Oregon, they chose instead to flee, the U.S. Calvary on their heels all the way to northern Montana, where they were finally stopped in mid-winter a few miles short of the Canadian border. Twin Buttes and Porcupine Hills To the west and east, respectively, these hills are piles of rocks and gravel released from the ice that melted when glaciers passed over groups of hot springs. The Twin Buttes were burned by the North Fork Fire, the largest of the park fires, in the summer of 1988. Fountain Paint Pot A short boardwalk leads to a group of oxide-colored mud pots - pools of hot clay entertaining for their blooping and spitting. Also here are several constantly-erupting geysers. Firehole Lake Drive (one-way heading north) goes three miles through Lower Geyser Basin, the park's most extensive geyser basin. Opposite the entrance to the Drive stands a group of lodgepole pines killed by shifting hot spring run-off. By capillary action the dead trees have soaked up mineral laden water, which colors their bases white and retards decay. These skeletons have stood here for decades. Midway Geyser Basin is a large and easily accessible geyser basin. Muleshoe Bend, just south of Midway Geyser Basin, the highway overlooks a group of very hot riverside polls. In 1978 a retriever dog jumped in one. Attempting to rescue the dog the owner also jumped in and was severely burned. At least 13 visitors have died, and countless others have been seriously burned, in Yellowstone hot springs since the park's establishment in 1872. Biscuit Basin a small but beautiful group of pools and geysers. The Basin is named for the biscuit-like formations that were found around Sapphire Pool, but were destroyed in an eruption following the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. The Firehole River is one of the oldest names in Yellowstone. Fur trappers used "hole" for valley. Fire refers not only to the abundant steaming hot springs along the river, but also to the effects of a big forest fire that burned the area around 1800, a few years before mountain men first entered Yellowstone. Black Sand Basin is a small cluster of geysers and hot springs. The sand for which this area is named is made of obsidian (black volcanic glass) formed when lava encountered ice and suddenly chilled. Upper Geyser Basin is the largest concentration of geysers in the world, including more than 70 geysers and 600 other hot springs and steam vents. Its most famous resident is, of course, Old Faithful. A geyser is a special type of hot spring that erupts periodically. Some 15,000 feet below the surface of the earth lays molten rock, which heats the overlaying layer of stone above it. Geysers occur where the groundwater seeps into underground crevasses in the red hot rocks. Water is super-heated to twice the boiling point. Gradually the pressure of the thousands of gallons of overlaying water prevents the superheated liquid from becoming steam. The pressure becomes so great that some of the water is pushed out through the geyser cone. West Thumb Geyser Basin is one of the smaller geyser basins in Yellowstone, but it is especially interesting because of its location - on the edge of the lake. The Continental Divide (elev 7988 ft) All water falling tot he south of the Divide flows via the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean; all water to the north eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean via the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Continental Divide meanders for about 115 miles across the plateau country of central Yellowstone. Lewis Lake The highway parallels the east shore of the lake for two and a half miles. Lewis, 108 ft deep and the third largest lake in Yellowstone, is connected to Shoshone Lake by a narrow channel famous for its brown trout fishing. The Lewis River Falls lie just upstream of the highway bridge, where Aster Creek flows into the Lewis River. The falls are 37 ft high. Lewis River Canyon was named in 1875 for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-06. Lewis and Clark never entered Yellowstone, though they passed about 50 miles to the north. Many of the rivers and mountains in the region were named and mapped by the explorers. The Lewis River joins the Snake on its flow to the Pacific Ocean just above the south entrance to the park. The canyon, 600 ft deep and one and a half miles long, lies where two black rhyolite lava flows joined about half a million years ago. The Tetons are visible to the south and the Absaroka Mountains Range rises to the east. Lodgepole Tunnel The road seems like a tunnel where it passes through a mature lodgepole pine forest. Lodgepoles, which grow straight and slender, were used by Indians as teepee poles. In Yellowstone lodgepoles grow slowly - as a rule of thumb one inch of trunk thickness per decade. Moose Falls is 30 ft high. Upstream the creek is warmed by hot springs so crawfish live in its waters, unusual at this latitude and altitude. South Entrance (elev 6883 ft) The Huck Fire, which started near here when wind blew a tree onto a power line, burned 20,000 acres in the park and forced the evacuation of South Entrance residents in July of 1988. |
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